Does Apple CarPlay work on the new iPhone 16?

Apple made its latest iPhone models available for sale on September 20. The iPhone 16 and 16 Pro offered few improvements over their predecessors, although Apple noted the addition of a camera button and the devices’ Apple Intelligence readiness as selling points.

One notable change, however, is the addition of a USB-C port instead of Apple’s Lightning port. Apple already sold iPhones with USB-C in European countries thanks to EU law requiring them to do so, while their US counterparts continued to offer the proprietary Lightning connection.

Customers immediately began celebrating because they could finally use one type of cable to manage most of their devices. But as one new iPhone user found out, that may not be the case.

Does the new iPhone 16 support wired CarPlay?

CarPlay is software that allows users to better communicate with their iPhones in vehicles. While this can sometimes be done over Bluetooth, it can sometimes require a wired connection. As TikTok user Randi (@fairytale.randi) notes, this has been a pain for new iPhone users.

Randi says she purchased a new iPhone 16 Pro Max and happily got rid of the Lightning cables, thinking she wouldn’t need them anymore.

However, when she tried to connect her new phone to CarPlay in her vehicle, which requires a wired connection, she ran into problems. In short, CarPlay didn’t work.

Irritated, she went to Best Buy to find a solution, where she was told that she would “need an adapter to connect to the Lightning cable,” or, as she put it, “the thing you just told me I wouldn’t need anymore.”

“Counting down the days, Apple,” she wrote in the video’s caption.

@fairytale.randi Countdown days apple #iphone16promax #apple #carplayadapter #applecarplay #lighteningcable #typeC #adap #newphonewhodis #iphone16 #iphone16issue ♬ original sound – Randi

How to Fix Wired CarPlay with iPhone 16

Randi is not the only person struggling with this problem.

Posts on Reddit and popular Apple forum MacRumors show that other users of the new Apple iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models are also struggling with the issue of not being able to use Apple Carplay on the new phone.

“16 Pro Max also won’t connect to my 2020 Corolla. I’ve swapped cables, reconnected. I’ve removed all Bluetooth devices. I’ve restarted my device. I’ve checked my content and privacy settings. Nothing,” wrote one Reddit user.

Despite this, many users have managed to resolve this issue either by trying different cables until they find the right one, or by following this guide available on the Apple support site.

Randi later posted a follow-up explaining her situation with cable.

@fairytale.randi In response to @x_emoboy ♬ original sound – Randi

In the comments section, users speculated about the possible causes of these issues, and many of them shared their own solutions.

“All you need is a Type-C cable that supports data, no adapter needed,” the user said. “Not all Type-C cables support data, you probably had a Type-C cable for charging only before.”

“I have a USB A to C dongle I bought on Amazon. I got like 3 for 9 bucks,” another suggested. “You shouldn’t need anything Lightning unless you still have your old AirPod case.”

“I would return this and buy an Apple cable, I think it’s Morphie? But this is what I got and it works perfectly! USB A to USBC,” said a third.

The Daily Dot reached out to Apple via email, and Randi reached out via Instagram DM and a TikTok comment.

Internet culture is chaotic — but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter Here. Get the best (and worst) stuff on the internet delivered straight to your inbox.